tms, McDonald’s, and PLAYMOBIL Wiltopia partner for a more sustainable wildlife Happy Meal®

tms, McDonald’s, and PLAYMOBIL Wiltopia invite you to embark on an immersive wildlife adventure for McDonald’s latest Happy Meal®! For this latest promotion, McDonald’s and PLAYMOBIL Wiltopia are creating a series of more sustainable Happy Meal® toys made from at least 95% plant-based plastic derived from sugarcane, accompanied by a digital videogame. This global campaign runs through the course of 2024, taking place across different countries at various times. 

tms coordinated the licensing between the two brands to make this partnership a reality. The focus of this Happy Meal® campaign is to prioritize respecting the earth and its animals by educating customers on wildlife and using recycled materials to do so. The original PLAYMOBIL Wiltopia toys are made from an average of 80% post-consumer waste recycled materials, living up to the brand’s ethos that people should grow up in a world where animals and nature are respected and protected.​ As McDonald’s pledges to use less virgin fossil-fuel based plastic and more sustainable materials for their packaging and toys by 2025,  this partnership just one example of how Happy Meal® programs are being made more sustainable. 

tms’ Future Lab played an integral role in aligning our campaign strategy with McDonald’s environmental commitments by finding new, more sustainable materials to produce its Happy Meal® toys. Since 2018, our Future Lab team has reduced virgin fossil fuel-based plastic in Happy Meal® toys by 24.4% globally, and we continue to work on sourcing materials from renewable, recycled, or certified sources.​ 

We designed the digital experience to be an educational yet enticing opportunity to dive into the wild and discover animals in their natural habitats through a digital game where users can select their environment and become wildlife photographers! Players are encouraged to snap as many photos as they can of the animals roaming around their screens, including those featured as Happy Meal® toys. Once they have captured all the animals on camera, they will be presented with a portfolio of their photos to remember their outdoor adventure. 

The packaging, designed and sourced by tms, showcases photorealistic images of the PLAYMOBIL Wiltopia Happy Meal® toys themselves, set in a tropical or desert setting. We also dialed up the Happy Meal® brand itself by utilizing the box as a tree house and underwater treasure chest in the different environments. We packaged the toys in small boxes that are FSC-certified and recyclable which portray the respective animals in their habitats, along with a code that gives customers access to the digital experience. All toys come with a brief description of the animals’ characteristics and natural habitat. 

Check your local markets to see if this promotion is currently available near you, and learn about the other initiatives we’re taking to make McDonald’s more sustainable, like the new crew uniforms made with CiCLO Technology.